


Illuminate

by fireflyangelxx



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 04:37:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13473840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflyangelxx/pseuds/fireflyangelxx
Summary: Modern AU where Rhys is a troubled boy who is dealing with his mother’s death and Feyre is a cute girl who helps him through his pain. Flipped roles of Feyre and Rhys from ACOMAF.





	Illuminate

It was winter of senior year when everything happened. Rhys sat alone outside, far out of sight of everyone else at the school. He could hear the chatter of his classmates as they all gathered in the lunch area. Normally, he would be there with them, but today, Rhys wanted to be alone.

His friends would be looking for him, especially Cassian and Azriel. Mor would pester him at home to make sure he was all right but his brothers--not in the literal sense of course--would try to find him first. Amren knew to wait, but Rhys already talked to her as she was in his English class.

Rhys sighed and pulled his legs closer into his chest and hugged them. He didn’t bring lunch today; his mother usually dealt with that but she was no longer here. Rhys felt a stab of pain in his chest at the thought of his sweet, doting mother.

He shut out the image of seeing her in his hospital bed, her eyes glassy, her skin clammy and cold. Dead.

It had only been a month since she had died but this was Rhys’s first day back to school. He hadn’t let any of his friends come over, not even his cousin, which drove Mor mad. Amren was the first Rhys had talked to in a month but thankfully she had been understanding about the situation and hadn’t pressed. “We’ll talk as a whole group when you want, Rhysand,” she had said, “I’ll make sure Cassian and Azriel stay away until you’re ready.”

Rhys was grateful for Amren’s support but he couldn’t help but feel like a coward for hiding behind the art building during lunch.

Before he could dwell on his thoughts any longer, a girl turned the corner and promptly tripped over Rhys, sprawling on the grassy lawn. Paintbrushes and paints went flying from her grasp, one bouncing off Rhys’s head.

“Ow…” The girl mumbled, pushing herself off the ground, brushing the dirt off her plain pink shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” Rhys blurted out, standing hastily to give the girl a hand. She looked remotely familiar--she was in his Math class--he recalled, but he was blanking on her name. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” the girl began gathering her supplies. “Just surprised I guess. There’s never anyone here; I’d know, I come here every day for some peace and quiet.”

Rhys bent to help her retrieve some of her things. When he straightened, he noticed that she had soft wavy hair and a round, almost innocent sort of face. Her eyes were a delicate blue and she met his gaze evenly. “You’re Rhysand.” She said.

He was surprised she knew and recognized him. That made him feel even more embarrassed to have been caught huddled in the corner of the school.

A name clicked in his brain. “Feyre. You’re Feyre.” Rhys didn’t know how he had forgotten her name; he remembered seeing her on the first day of freshman year and thinking she was gorgeous.

He brushed those thoughts out of his mind as Feyre looked him over. She was in her casual pink shirt and cute jeans, though Rhys would never admit that to her. He looked down at himself and saw that he was just in a rumpled t-shirt and some sweats.

“You weren’t in school for a whole month,” Feyre said, her blue-gray eyes lifting back up to his midnight blue ones. “Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” he said tightly, looking away. He knew she wasn’t convinced but they weren’t really friends and Rhys had never talked to her before today.

“You usually sit in the courtyard don’t you?” Feyre continued, clutching all her painting supplies. “What are you doing out here? I saw your friends--I think they’re looking for you.”

Rhys shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “They probably are,” he agreed. “But I wanted some peace and quiet as well.”

Feyre nodded and didn’t pry. She just set her bag down and laid out her paints. “I’m going to paint,” she explained, even though Rhys already knew that. “You’re welcome to stay if you don’t want to go back out. I won’t make much noise.”

“Thanks,” Rhys said, slumping back down on the ground. “I’ll just sit here if you don’t mind.”

She waved a hand to him and just got right to work, drawing out a canvas and sketching what seemed like a bird taking flight on it. Rhys watched as she made delicate strokes, her pencil dancing across the surface as faint lines appeared on the paper. Then, she opened her box of paints and dipped her brush into the blue and began painting.

For the entire period of lunch, Rhys just sat there and watched as she painted and painted. Slowly, the bird began to appear in full color on the canvas and Rhys admired the way Feyre took her time to examine all the angles before continuing her strokes.

When the lunch bell rang, she had only finished the first wing of the bird. She dutifully gathered all her supplies and glanced at Rhys. “Where are you going to put the painting?” Rhys asked, unsure why he lingered when he should be getting to his next class.

“In the art room.” Feyre stuffed her paints and brushes in her bag. “I would paint in there but I like painting outside. The fresh air helps me think.” She tucked a strand of golden-brown hair around her ear as she said this. “I like this spot because it lets me paint in peace and I can just stash my painting in the art room right after.”

It was genius, Rhys thought, but he just wordlessly helped her pack her supplies. As she walked away, Feyre shot Rhys a warm smile. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” Rhys found himself saying. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

She only smiled again before going into the art room. Rhys stood there for a long moment, staring at the spot she had last occupied until the tardy bell rang and Rhys realized he had to get to class.

~*~

The next day at lunch, Feyre was already there when Rhys walked behind the art room. He was late because he had to talk to his teacher about all the homework he missed. Rhys wasn’t sure how he was going to get through senior year.

Feyre looked up as he plopped his bag down and leaned against the building to watch her paint. “Hi Rhysand,” she blinked, “I didn’t expect to see you here again.”

“Rhys,” he told her by way of greeting, “people usually just call me ‘Rhys’.”

“Okay,” Feyre said, not missing a beat. Her hair was tied back today, showing the pale skin of her neck. Her blouse--white and decorated with pearls along the hem--billowed in the breeze. her black leggings stretched along her legs and Rhys blushed when he realized he was staring. “Why aren’t you with your friends?”

Rhys shrugged. “I haven’t talked to them in awhile.”

Feyre didn’t reply and kept painting. By now, the bird was mostly filled, its blue feathers shimmering as if it was really taking off from the page. Rhys watched her paint for ten minutes before he sat down and just watched in silence. He was grateful that she didn’t mind and that she didn’t pry on his issues. In reality, Rhys was just hiding from his friends.

Luckily, he only had a class with Amren and his father kept Mor away whenever she tried to visit. Amren told him that she told Azriel and the two spent their time making sure Cassian didn’t try to track him down. Rhys knew he had to talk to them soon, but he didn’t know what he would do if he tried to explain the empty hole in his heart.

His phone buzzed but Rhys ignored it. Mor and Cassian had been texting him nonstop all month, asking if he was okay and when they could come over. He never replied to any of them.

“You’re quiet today,” Feyre observed, breaking into his train of thoughts.

“I’m always quiet,” Rhys commented, “And it’s only day two.”

Feyre just smiled, a soft and pretty one. “I just wanted to make conversation,” she laughed a little, “you just seemed really sad. Is something wrong?”

She didn’t even know him but here she was, trying to see if he was all right. It was endearing to rhys and he found himself feeling comfortable with Feyre. Perhaps that was why he had come back here.

“Nothing is wrong.” Rhys lied.

Feyre nodded and that was that.

~*~

It was two weeks of sitting with Feyre at lunch when she handed him a sandwich wrapped in foil. “What’s this?” Rhys accepted the gift and set down his bag.

“Lunch. You never eat.” She set up her easel again and broke out her paints.

Rhys stared a little dumbfoundedly at the sandwich. “You don’t eat lunch either.”

“I eat in fourth period,” Feyre explained, “I have art fourth so I just eat then so I can paint for the entirety of lunch. That’s an extra for you; I want you to have it.”

“I...thank you.” Rhys didn’t know what to say.

But he just set it down next to him and watched her work. If he was being honest, he hadn’t eaten all these weeks because he wasn’t hungry. He barely ate all day, with meager meals for breakfast and dinner every day.

Feyre, observant as ever, set her brush down and glanced at him. “You aren’t eating.” She sat down in front of him and Rhys pulled his knees closer to him, feeling so small and insignificant to this girl. “Eat the sandwich, Rhys. I want you to eat it.”

Rhys just mutely shook his head. The thought of eating made him want to throw up. Feyre didn’t look offended and just took one of his hands in hers. He stilled. Her hands were extremely soft, and her fingers were long and slim and perfect. Painter hands.

“You haven’t been eating at all, have you?” Feyre asked.

“No.”

“Have you been talking with your friends?”

“No.”

Feyre’s eyebrows furrowed and he saw worry evident in her blue-gray eyes. “Rhys, what’s wrong? Before last month you were one of the most popular boys at school. Now you just hide out here. This isn’t you.”

“You don’t know me,” Rhys knew he sounded blunt.

Feyre gazed at him calmly. “I know I ask you this a lot but: are you okay? Something happened to keep you away from school and now you’re a shadow of what I used to see you as. Tell me what is wrong.”

Rhys hesitated. He hadn’t even told his friends about the widening hole in his chest. He was starting to think that he never would find the courage to tell his friends. But Feyre, who accepted his silence and sadness, was here for him. She was becoming more and more like his friend. Rhys wondered why he didn’t talk to her before this.

With her, Rhys wanted to talk about it. With Feyre, Rhys thought he could mend his grief. “My mother died a month and a half ago.” The words were quiet, almost a whisper.

There was no pity in Feyre’s eyes, just sadness and understanding. “That’s terrible, Rhys, no wonder you didn’t come to school.”

“Yeah...I didn’t leave the house for a month.”

“Is that when you stopped eating?”

Rhys nodded mutely. “I haven’t talked to any of my friends since either. Well, I talked to Amren once because I have class with her but I haven’t seen the others.”

“They seem like very nice people,” Feyre brushed her thumb along his hand, sending shivers up his arm. “You should talk to them. It’ll make the pain feel better.”

“They know what happened.” Rhys mumbled. “I just don’t want to be around people anymore.”

“But you like being around me?” Feyre looked amused but her smile was kind.

“You’re really nice,” Rhys admitted. “And you give me the space I want right now.”

Feyre gently released his hand. “My mother died when I was fourteen. I’ll never forget losing her and having to take things in my own hands. But I had friends who helped me get through it.”

“You don’t sit with them.” Rhys couldn’t help but blurt out.

Feyre looked a little wistful. “I don’t talk to them anymore. Surely you remember the drama last year about me and Tamlin?” Rhys started a little. That was why he hadn’t ever talked to her before--she had dated someone Rhys couldn’t stand. Tamlin hated his guts as well. “Well you know how that went. Lucien doesn’t talk to me anymore because of it. But I’m fine with being here--I love to paint.”

“Your paintings are really pretty.” Rhys admitted. “I love them.”

Feyre smiled. “Thank you.” The bell rang, indicating the end of lunch. “Eat the sandwich, Rhys.” He grabbed the foil and opened it up. He took a bite and Feyre hid her grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Rhys gathered his own things. “Yeah. I’m sorry about your mom, Feyre.”

“And I’m sorry about yours.”

Rhys just shouldered his bag and wordlessly took another bite out of the sandwich. Now that he was eating, he realized how famished he was.

Feyre caught his arm and looked into his midnight blue eyes. “Talk to your friends.”

~*~

Mor cornered him the next day right outside the art room. “Rhys! Rhysand! There you are. Where have you been all this time? Don’t you check your phone?”

“I’m fine,” Rhys pushed her away. Panic fluttered in his stomach--he didn’t want to talk to Mor yet. “I just want space, Mor.”

“The others are worried,” Mor said, ignoring him.

“Tell them I’m busy.” Rhys turned away from her. “I have a lot of homework to catch up on still. I’ll talk to you guys soon. Don’t come find me, please, I don’t want to be distracted.”

“But--” Mor said.

“Mor,” Rhys cut in, “Please. I want to be alone. Can you just go tell the others? I’ll come by when I’m done. I promise.”

He walked around the art building without another word. Feyre just pointed at the sandwich sitting on top of her bag. “Was that Morrigan?”

Rhys picked up the sandwich. “Yeah, Mor is my cousin. She wanted to talk to me.”

“And?”

Rhys shrugged. Feyre moved to set the brush down but Rhys just tugged his hood over his head and curled up by the wall. Feyre understood and went back to painting. Rhys began to eat the sandwich.

When the lunch period ended, Feyre looked Rhys in the eye as he stood up. “Talk to them tomorrow,” she said, “I have to be somewhere at lunch. I don’t want you to be alone.”

“Okay,” was all Rhys said, but he met her gaze evenly. He knew--and she did too--that he would talk to his friends tomorrow.

~*~

Rhys was jittery at lunch. He stood outside the art building for a good ten minutes before he realized that Feyre wasn’t going to come out. He really was alone today, but he wished he could ask the painter to come with him. He knew he couldn’t wait any longer with his friends.

He strolled aimlessly through the courtyard, getting strange looks from the people as if they had just noticed that he was back in school. Rhys walked towards the cluster of palm trees and his stomach flipped when he saw his friends.

Mor tipped her head back and laughed at something Cassian said, a clear and crystal sound. Cassian was grinning, his long hair tied back to keep out of his face. Azriel was smiling as well and Amren tossed a piece of bread at Cassian, hitting him in the eye. They looked so normal there. Rhys wondered what Cassian had said and knew that if he was there, he would have been howling with Mor.

But there was a wall between him and his friends now. Rhys stood there in the shadows, watching his friends laugh and interact. He couldn’t bring himself to move forward. If he did, they would see him and all the laughter would erase from their faces.

Their joy and happiness reminded Rhys of a time when they would all crash his house and his mother would bake cookies for everyone. Those were Rhys’s favorite memories.

But they wouldn’t ever happen again.

The lunch bell rang and Rhys’s friends gathered their belongings before walking away to their classes. None of them saw him huddled in the shadows, staring mournfully after them.

He stood there until the tardy bell rang and Rhys realized he was late for class again.

~*~

It was another week before Feyre commented on Rhys’s presence with her. “Why don’t you sit with your friends? I thought you talked to them.” The bird painting had been finished and now she was painting the night sky.

“I tried to,” Rhys mumbled as he ate the daily sandwich he was provided. “But I didn’t know how to talk to them.”

Feyre moved to set down her brush but Rhys hurriedly said. “Keep painting. I like to watch you paint.” The girl hesitated before nodding.

“My birthday is coming up,” Feyre said, “Why don’t you and your friends come to my house for a small party? I don’t normally host parties anymore but I thought I would this year since you’re my friend now. It’s been a year since I had friends to share this with.”

Rhys didn’t know what to say. “You don’t know my friends.”

“I’d like to meet them--especially Mor. She seems like such an awesome friend. Will you ask them for me? It’s this Saturday.”

Tomorrow then. Rhys wordlessly pulled out his phone and opened up the group chat he had with his friends. He texted out his message before hovering over the send button. He knew Feyre was watching him. He pressed send.

RHYS: Party at Feyre’s house tomorrow. Want to come?

The replies were immediate.

MOR: Rhys! You finally checked your phone!

CASSIAN: Party? You’re going to a part without us? Also, Feyre Archeron?

AZRIEL: What’s the address?

AMREN: I don’t like parties, Rhysand.

Feyre walked over and read the messages over his shoulder. “Here,” she took the phone and typed in her address and the time. “It’ll just be us. I assume they’re all going?”

“Yeah,” Rhys turned off his phone and ignored the other messages. “Even Amren will go even though she claims she hates parties.”

Feyre smiled. SHe wrote down something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “That’s my number. Call or text me whenever, okay?”

The lunch bell rang and Rhys pocketed the number. He already knew he was going to her party, even if his friends weren’t. Now he only had a day to figure out what to get her as a present. The party, she had said, was at seven in the afternoon.

“See you tomorrow.” Feyre tossed a smile in his direction.

“See you.” Rhys replied, this time going to class on time.

~*~

Rhys arrived early to the party to avoid his friends. He also wanted to give Feyre her present early in order to see her reaction privately. He rang the doorbell, fiddling with the ribbon he had hastily tied around the box. Feyre answered after a few seconds and a smile lit her face up when she saw Rhys at the door.

“Hey!” She flung her arms around him, crushing him in a hug. Before Rhys could register if he should put his arms around her as well, Feyre pulled back. “You’re really early.”

Rhys made a show of glancing at his phone. Fifty new messages from Mor, twenty from Cassian, and three hundred seventy two from the group chat. But the time said 6:30 pm. 

“I didn’t have anywhere to be,” Rhys found himself saying. He managed a thin smile that made Feyre perk up. “Happy birthday,” he stuck out the present, “I got something for you.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to!” Feyre accepted the gift, a blush spreading on her cheeks. “Your presence tonight is a gift enough.”

That made Rhys laugh a bit but he let Feyre lead him inside and they sat on the first few steps of her staircase. “Can I open it right now?” Feyre asked, her delicate painter hands poised above the string holding the wrapping together. Rhys nodded.

Feyre carefully unwrapped the gift and let out a gasp of wonder. “Did you get me a paint set?”

Rhys ducked his head. “I know you probably have tons of paint sets but since you’re painting the night sky…” The palette was one with the darker colors of the spectrum, perfect for painting the night sky. “There’s more too,” Rhys said shyly.

The next box was a mixture of pastel paint colors. Feyre clasped a hand over her heart at the sight of it. “You don’t know how relieving it is to receive these colors.” She hugged him again. “It’s hard work mixing colors in order to find something perfect.”

_You’re perfect._ Rhys thought.

“You’re welcome,” he managed to say, “I’m glad you like them.”

“I love them!” Feyre pecked Rhys on the cheek with a swift kiss. Rhys froze but Feyre still had her arms thrown around him and they were very, very close. Rhys tried not to think about what it would be like to kiss her. Feyre must have been thinking the same thing because her eyes cut to Rhys’s mouth and he swallowed nervously.

Before either of them could make a move, however, the doorbell rang again. Feyre reacted instantly, jumping out of his grasp and hurriedly set his gift on the counter before opening the door to welcome his friends. Rhys felt her absence like a blow to the chest and tugged his knees to his body as he heard Mor.

“Happy birthday, Feyre! Sorry for just crashing your place but Rhys asked us to come and we can’t say no to a party.” Mor’s singsong voice floated up the stairs to where Rhys was sitting.

A chorus of “happy birthdays” followed Mor’s statement before Cassian said hurriedly. “Is Rhys here?”

Rhys heard the pause as Feyre decided what to say. He decided to spare her the choice and got up from where he was huddled and walked into the main room.

His friends gaped at him and Rhys stared back. Mor was in a stunning red gown that made her at least twenty-one. Cassian and Azriel were both in their usual black t-shirts and pants while Amren had a pale gray blouse matched with black pants. A red ruby necklace lined her neck.

“What happened to your clothes?” Amren tsked. “Those aren’t your party clothes.”

Rhys looked down at his clothes. He was in simple blue shirt and sweats. The type of clothes he had worn every single day since meeting Feyre. He sort of forgot that he had other clothes to choose from.

“Nevermind that,” Cassian pulled Rhys into a group hug and Rhys felt three other sets of arms wrap around him. Here, in the midst of his friends, Rhys felt himself feeling at home as if he had been away for too long.

“I missed you guys,” Rhys mumbled into Cassian’s shirt.

“You ass,” Cassian snorted, “You could have visited or texted us whenever. Where have you been? It’s been a month and a half.”

Rhys pulled himself out of the hug to gesture to Feyre who stood by the counter, smiling to herself. “I’ve been sitting with her at lunch.” He explained. “This is Feyre Archeron.”

“We know,” Mor chirped, “Hello, officially. I’m glad Rhys befriended you; we’ve always wondered when he would start spending time with a girl not related to him.”

“I take great offense to that.” Amren cleared her throat. “I am clearly female.”

Mor rolled her eyes. “You’re all practically family. Plus, Rhys _offered_ that one time--”

“Oh, be quiet.”

Feyre looked like she was stifling her laughter. Rhys caught her gaze and she mouthed: _You and Amren?_ Rhys flushed and shook his head but he was smiling a bit.

“There’s food in the kitchen,” Feyre led them to her dining room. “I hope you guys like Italian food.”

“We brought a cake!” Mor said excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get on with this party!”

Rhys’s friends filed in first and Feyre lingered in the living room with Rhys. “I’m glad you finally seem comfortable with them.” She took Rhys’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I love it when you smile like that. I think it only comes out when you’re with your friends.”

“A specific smile?” Rhys took her other hand and the girl tilted her head to look into his vibrant blue eyes. “You make me want to smile all the time.”

Feyre blushed prettily. “I’m glad you became my friend,” he admitted to her. “I don’t think I would have ever recovered from my mother’s death without your help.”

She smiled then. “I am glad to have befriended you as well.”

For a long moment, they stood like that before Rhys finally leaned down and brushed his mouth briefly over hers. He felt her freeze in surprise but before he could pull away, Feyre flung her arms around him and kissed him back.

They would have stayed like that forever if Mor hadn’t shouted from the dining room. “I told you so, Cassian! You owe me twenty dollars.”

Feyre and Rhys broke apart, grinning and breathless. “Wow,” she laughed, “That was better than I imagined.”

Rhys linked his arm with hers and they walked towards the others.

“Happy birthday,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead, feeling lighter than he had ever before.


End file.
